Lusitania documentary

Stagecrew riggers in Belfast assist on Lusitania documentary

Our Belfast riggers have been on board HMS Caroline assisting with one of the latest film projects in the city's Titanic Quarter.

360 Production have been filming a dramatic reconstruction of the sinking of ocean liner RMS Lusitania. Torpedoed by a German U-boat, Lusitania was briefly the world's largest passenger ship. She was sunk on Friday 7th May 1915 with the loss of 1198 passengers. The drama / documentary follows the lives of the crew on Lusitania.

HMS Caroline is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland 1916. The Heritage Lottery Fund has just awarded a large sum to restore and preserve it as another tourist attraction in the Titanic Quarter.

Stage Crew riggers were hired to assist the TV / film crews in moving around the ship safely, and to install fall arrest systems on the internal ladders and stairwells.

Flymen skills training for theatre

Stage Crew understands the value of investing in skills, training and refreshers for their local crew and riggers. A fledgling flyteam attended a Flying Awareness course at the Mill Theatre in April. Under the auspices of Production Services Ireland, instructor Dave Stuttard ran the crew through the rudimentaries of pulleys, blocks, sheaves and mechanical advantage. Scenery can weigh over a tonne and be flown in at speeds of 30 miles an hour. The precision of a master flyman is considered an art form.
As well as providing great visuals for our photographer, it was a fascinating introduction to this noble craft. Historically off-duty sailors commanded the ropes of early fly systems, communicating in loud pitched whistles. Whistling was disallowed in the theatres lest it was interpreted as a fly command. Thus whistling is still considered bad luck today; mostly because it is annoying.

MTV Titanic Sounds - Stage build & production crew

The Titanic Centenary celebrations built to a thrilling crescendo with the Titanic Sounds concert under the imposing shadow of the spectacular new Titanic building in East Belfast. Stagecrew Ireland supplied all stage build crew, site crew and production crew for the outdoor stage.

The Star Stage was erected on the historic Titanic slipway with the iconic Harland & Wolff cranes towering overhead. In all, Stage-Crew supplied 46 local crew over 8 days, including aerial and ground riggers as well as tele-handler and M.E.W.P operators. It was an historic event in the truest sense in a stunning and memorable location.